Absolutely Zero Las Vegas Chefs and Restaurants Earned a 2023 James Beard Award

On Monday night at the Lyric Opera in Chicago, the James Beard Awards honored chefs and restaurants in categories like best new restaurant, outstanding restaurateur, and best chef. The prestigious awards are like the Oscars for the American restaurant industry, celebrating the best and most significant individuals and institutions in the world of culinary. In May, the James Beard Foundation announced the finalists for its 2023 Restaurant and Chef Awards, which included three finalists from Las Vegas. But Southern Nevada took home zero awards last night — a snub for a city that is home to some of the country’s best culinary talent.

Las Vegas finalists who unfortunately did not receive an award include:

• Garagiste Wine Room and Merchant, a downtown wine bar that opened in 2019, the only bar in Las Vegas to earn a nomination. With a profound knowledge base, Eric Prato, a hospitality veteran and former head sommelier at Bouchon, operates Garagiste as both a wine bar and a starting point for anyone looking to build their own wine cellar.
• Chef Oscar Amador from Eater Award winner Anima by EDO was recognized for his neighborhood Spanish-Italian restaurant. The tasting menu Amador developed with chef Francesco Di Caudo — who made the long list but was not moved forward as a finalist — highlights Spanish-Italian dishes with unexpected flavors, innovative methods, and eye-catching plating.
• Chef Kaoru Azeuchi was tapped as a finalist for his intricate dishes and thoughtfully coursed menus at Kaiseki Yuzu. Inside the open kitchen and at the sushi bar, Azeuchi specializes in omakase dinners that highlight traditional techniques and thoughtfully sourced ingredients.

Yip Cheung of Red Plate at the Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas, Jimmy Li of xiao long bao destination ShangHai Taste, and Francesco Di Caudo from Anima by EDO made the long list but did not move forward as finalists.

See the full list of winners here.